Appears to be impossible to update the CS6 apps. Why?

[Kurt Lang]

First, yes, I've already read every single topic in these forums about the U43M1D207 error code, and trying to update the CS6 apps in general. So there's no point supplying links to them. And this is going to be a bit long so folks don't suggest other things I've already tried.

I do have the CS6 apps all installed and updated (mostly) on a Mojave partition for my 2018 Mac mini, and it works fine. So what's the complaint? Except for Photoshop CC, which I continue use under the $10 per month Photography plan, I wanted to eliminate all other subscription apps as we approach retirement. The other reason is I wanted access to Illustrator CS6 without having to boot back and forth between Mojave and Monterey. So I installed High Sierra in VMware and CS6 within that from my Master Collection .dmg image.

I only use InDesign and Illustrator very occasionally. Like, two or three times a year, tops. The monthly cost for the full CC suite just isn't worth the money to use practically none of it year-round. The free VivaDesigner is good enough as an InDesign replacement. But I've found nothing like Illustrator I thought was worth using. Free or otherwise. And I've tried/tested virtually everything available. Hence the VM approach so I stay in Monterey when I want to use Illustrator.

Okay, so no problem installing Illustrator CS6 in the VM. Lots of problems trying to activate it. I still had one open activation and it kept failing, saying there was no Internet connection. Wrong, since I could use Safari withing the VM just fine. Called Adobe and they verified there's nothing wrong with my license (not a stolen serial number or such). After about 10 trys, the verification process finally said, "There is an Internet connection. We don't know what's wrong." From there, it gave me a link for a manual activation. Which worked, but the result is weird. The deactivation link is still grayed out in the menus. Does that mean it's active without using my second install? Hard to say.

Anyway, after that mess, the real problem. You can't update anything. Not from within the apps, which all produce the error:

There was an error downloading this update. Please quit and try again later. Error Code: U43M1D207

Nor can you even use the stand-alone updaters I downloaded and saved when they were still available. You get this message when trying to run them:

Both the InDesign and Illustrator CS6 update patches throw this message out. Well, I don't know much more applicable you can get when the apps are right there.

This issue now also affects the completed install on the Mojave drive. It did update Camera Raw just a few weeks ago. But it now gives the same U43M1D207 error for an (admittedly unimportant) update.

What's going on? The first I can see as Adobe has removed all updates from their servers for CS6, resulting in the U43M1D207 error. It can't download and apply the updates because they don't exist. But why in the world would the stand-alone installers fail? Isn't the entire purpose of them to run without needing anything else than what's in the .dmg files?

Yes, I understand CS6 is no longer supported. But that should mean there will be no more new software updates for it, or any phone support. But your perpetual license should still allow you to at least apply the updates there are. Especially when you have saved copies of them!

With what I've seen now, I wouldn't dare ever deactivate the apps on the Mojave drive, or uninstall/reinstall them. It's now imperitive to have at least one full, restorable backup of that drive (which I already do).

So, any suggestions from Adobe as to what I can do to get the CS6 updates working?

[Nancy OShea]

Maybe because your 10 year old software is discontinued & unsupported.  I would not be at all surprised to learn that Adobe has removed the update servers from service.   CS2, CS3 and CS4 activation servers no longer exist.

Updates for legacy Dreamweaver are the only ones I know of.

https://www.adobe.com/support/dreamweaver/downloads_updaters.html

You should ask the InDesign & Illustrator communities if they know where you can find those legacy product updates.

https://community.adobe.com/

We have no way of knowing how much longer Adobe can keep CS6 alive.  It's on life support and could quit working at any time with no possible way to activate it again.

[Kurt Lang]

Yes, I'm well aware it's old software. It's been 19 years since CS6 was released. I mentioned that, partly for the purpose of having those replying not bothering to mention it.

I've been using Adobe's software since version 3. Actual version 3, not CS3, and have paid for every upgrade between then and CS6, and then the monthly fees for years after that with the CC suite. I haven't calculated to the dollar how much that has cost me, but the CC subscription alone for the past 18 years is over 10 thousand. Add in all of the perpetual license upgrades between version 3 and CS6, and close to 20 thousand isn't unrealistic. So yes, I think I've more than earned responses from Adobe for an actual solution - if possible.

Why spend this much? Because it was part of doing business in my single person, in-home office. You keep up with the software your clients are using so you can open the documents they send you, or you go out of business. And despite the cost, those monthly CC fees were paid for in less than a few hours of work each month.

But the business is now closed. As part of cutting costs for impending retirement, spending $660 per year on software I now almost never use (with the exception of Photoshop) for the entire CC suite just isn't realistic or smart.

The CS6 updaters all disappeared from Adobe's site, roughly, a couple of months ago. From that point, the online updating process also stopped working. If updating through any app it would find and download the files, but then refuse to apply them, claiming the files couldn't be downloaded. Really? Then just what's the progress bar showing how much data it was downloading for? Giggles?

And why won't the stand-alone updaters work? That's the really annoying part of this whole thing. There's no reasons they shouldn't. The exact same updaters worked before Adobe pulled them from their site. You have to assume those updaters are looking for something at Adobe's servers they can no longer find. But what, and why? It shouldn't be necessary for them to look for anything beyond what's in the .dmg packages.

It's actually hard to tell if the CS6 activation servers are still working. Adobe hasn't announced they've been shut down (as far as I can tell). But after numerous tries to activate it in the VM - as mentioned - it finally threw me to this page.

https://exception.licenses.adobe.com/aoes/aoes/v1/t1?locale=en

This may now already be the only way to activate CS6. A workaround for those with legal, uncompromised serial numbers to still use their perpetual license software. Who knows, we may eventually reach a point where Adobe releases it for free to registered users, as they did with CS2. But that's likely a long way off as that hasn't happened even for CS3 or CS4 yet.

Thanks for the suggestion of the Illustrator / InDesign forums. Can't hurt to look, but I posted under the Download & Install forum because that's where the issue is. Though more specifically in this case, Download & Update.

[Nancy OShea]

Yes, I'm well aware it's old software. It's been 19 years since CS6 was released. ...the CC subscription alone for the past 18 years is over 10 thousand.

By @Kurt Lang

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That's some fuzzy math given that CS6 was released in 2012 and Creative Cloud didn't exist until 2013. 

In any case, this user-to-user community is here to help CURRENT software users download & install Creative Cloud products.  Unfortunately, it's not in our power to help you with legacy updates if no such updates exist anymore.  Sorry. 

All the best to you in retirement.

[Kurt Lang]

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That's some fuzzy math given that CS6 was released in 2012 and Creative Cloud didn't exist until 2013. 

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Amazing. Out of all of my previous comment, you laser focus on a date error. I picked that text up from another forum I frequent where it says 9. Which was correct when I wrote it. I don't know how the 1 got in there as I added it to this topic, and I didn't notice it.

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In any case, this user-to-user community is here to help CURRENT software users download & install Creative Cloud products.

And where did that rule come from? Did you make it up just now? Is anyone over 30 also considered too old to post here?

This is Adobe's forum, where users ask for help with Adobe's software. There is no sub-forum for "older products", as they have at Apple's forums. You first told me to ask in the InDesign & Illustrator forums. Now, somehow, I'm not allowed to ask about older software titles at all. Given that, I don't know where else you would expect a person to ask.

If you have any constructive ideas, I'll still be glad to hear them.

[Nancy OShea]

This forum deals with issues related to Downloading & Installing Creative Cloud products.  Like I said at the top, ask InDesign's community about links to legacy updaters.  Ditto for Illustrator.  This community has no access to them, if they even exist anymore.

Goodbye & good luck.

[AxelMatt]

Please take a look here:

Gelöst: Fehlercode U43M1D207 - Adobe Support Community - 7938015

Adobe Application Manager: Fehlercode U43M1D207 - Adobe Support Community - 6222665

Gelöst: Fehlercode U43M1D207 - Adobe Support Community - 7938015

https://community.adobe.com/t5/download-install-discussions/fehlercode-u43m1d207/m-p/7938015

[Kurt Lang]

Thanks, but I can't read German (though I could always use an online language converter). But the dates are all more than 6 years old and don't really apply to the current issue of the stand-alone updaters refusing to run.